Sinners proves to be one of the most thrilling blockbuster films of the 2020s so far. One part vampire horror flick, another part neo-western, it's a certified smash hit that's been dazzling audiences, myself included. It does well in acknowledging the rich history of Black music across several lifetimes. Most notably though, it centers around the blues and works as an integral part of the story. Fittingly, they enlist arguably the genre's most legendary artist Buddy Guy for a sense of legitimacy.
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Avoiding spoilers, his role is pretty brief in the grand scheme of things. However, director Ryan Coogler implements him to really drive the film's thesis home. Guy also found it important to magnify the importance of the Blues and how its fingerprints remain on modern music.
Buddy Guy Wants to Keep The Blues Alive After Brief Role in Sinners
Recently, he spoke to Variety about his extended cameo in Sinners. There, Buddy emphasizes how important it is for him to keep the Blues alive. In terms of how Guy got his part, Coogler and co. came to his club in Chicago and approached him with his role. Initially, there was some trepidation because all he knows is the blues. Acting is relatively unexplored territory for him. However, his purpose drives him to take a swing at it anyway.
"Whatever can help the blues stay alive, I'm all for it, and I will try anything. I said, I don't know if I'm good enough to do that. But I'll give it a try, and if it works, it works, and if it doesn't, at least I'll say I gave it a try," Buddy says.
Additionally, he highlights that the genre doesn't have the legs it used to have. Younger generations have little relationship with it because they don't hear it anywhere. Consequently, he follows in Muddy Waters and BB King's footsteps to keep the blues alive. "There's very few radio stations other than satellite who play blues now. And the older people I learned from is no longer with us," Buddy explains. So I'm 100% trying to support it so the next generation of white or Black kids can hear it and know more about the blues that was created way before the British type of (blues-rock) stuff come along and all the different types of music we have now. Muddy Waters and BB King, I knew 'em before they passed away, and they told me, 'Man, if you outlive me, just try to keep the blues alive.'"
